Hackney Council: Reconsider the cull of foxes in Clissold Park

Hackney Council have announced they will start culling foxes living in Clissold Park due to health concerns.

The council have said that the cull is 'necessary' as the foxes are posing a "severe health risk" to the deer living in the park.

Hackney Council said they are not sure how many foxes will be killed, but said their experts knew there was "evidence of significant activity".

This petition is urging the council to reconsider this decision as there is no evidence foxes pose a risk to the health of either deer or humans.

If the council are concerned about the number of foxes in the area, it is imperative they use more a humane, non-lethal deterrent methods to discourage these animals in the area.

People who call for a cull forget or ignore the fact that it has been tried before… and failed.

The reality of a fox ‘cull’ is that it would achieve nothing. Prominent wildlife ecologists, including DEFRA, accept that previous attempts to reduce the numbers of a self-regulating species that annually replaces its lost numbers and may not breed at all if numbers are already optimal have failed – WILL always fail.

Studies in Scotland and Wales both suggest that culling leads to a slightly bigger breeding population the next year, probably because more foxes move in to contest the vacant area than were there in the first place.